How much is Roquan Smith’s historic contract with the Baltimore Ravens worth?
Though much has been made of the numbers involved in the deal, the numbers that truly matter are the ones the team posted before vs after his arrival.
As they prepare for their Wild Card round date with the Cincinnati Bengals, both the Ravens and their star linebacker can breathe a little easier knowing that their future together is secure.
Ravens’ Roquan Smith becomes highest paid linebacker in NFL history
According to reports, the Baltimore Ravens have most definitely tightened up their defense for the foreseeable future. As per NFL Network, Roquan Smith and the Baltimore Ravens have agreed to a five-year, $100 million contract extension that will make him the highest-paid linebacker in NFL history. With that, Smith will now become the first off-ball linebacker to make $20 million per season. Interestingly, the deal includes $45 million fully guaranteed and $60 million in total guarantees. Smith, who represents himself, was set to be a free agent this offseason, however, the Ravens clearly didn’t entertain the possibility of such a scenario, tying up things as quickly as they could.
Indeed, Smith’s signing was actually an obvious one for Baltimore, having seen him make an instantaneous impact on their defense since acquiring him before the trade deadline. In total Smith finished this past season with 169 tackles, 4.5 sacks, three interceptions, and six passes defended between the Chicago Bears with whom he started the campaign and the Ravens with whom he finished it. At present, Smith and Patrick Willis are the only players to have 150-plus tackles, four-plus sacks and three-plus interceptions in a season.
How did Roquan Smith get here?
In case you missed it, the Ravens acquired Smith at the trade deadline, sending to the Bears a 2023 second-round pick, 2023 fifth-round pick and linebacker A.J. Klein. Since that move, Smith has registered 86 tackles, two sacks, three passes defended and an interception in nine games with the Ravens. It would be fair to say that he is directly responsible for Turning Baltimore’s defense into one of the NFL’s best at the moment. Consider for a moment, that Baltimore allowed just 14.7 points per game since Smith arrived, that’s second in the NFL in case you’re wondering.
Overall, the Ravens have conceded 288.8 yards per game and 3.5 yards per carry. Prior to Smith’s arrival, they were allowing 364.4 yards per game and 4.4 yards per carry i.e., the guy is the real deal. If you’d like some perspective on where this deal ranks, Smith has now leapfrogged Shaquille Leonard as the highest-paid linebacker in the game. His average annual salary of $20 million per season surpasses Leonard’s $19.7 million. Yet, it’s got to be said that Smith, Leonard, and T.J. Watt are the only NFL defenders to register at least 15 sacks and five interceptions over the last five seasons. We’d say that’s money well spent.